CJIA lights that damaged plane’s tyres were not in correct position

-preliminary report

The arrival of the inaugural American Airlines flight last November
The arrival of the inaugural American Airlines flight last November

A preliminary report by the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) has said that the threshold lights that caused the rupturing of the tyres of an American Airlines (AA) aircraft were not in the correct position at the time of the incident.

The GCAA said in a press statement yesterday that its investigation, which remains ongoing, however, so far suggests that the temporary threshold lights were before the transverse strip and not behind it on the Cheddi Jagan Inter-national Airport (CJIA) runway where the incident occurred.

The transverse strip identifies the threshold of the runway.

“In addition, the housing (case) of temporary [the] threshold lights were not frangible. These factors are seen as probable contributory causes for the incident,” the statement said, while adding that the Authority anticipates concluding the investigation sometime next week and will issue a statement when the final report is completed.

A source from the Authority also pointed out that the lights were not where they should have been. However, the source explained that the Authority understands why they were not behind—because of ongoing construction—and that the final report will clarify all uncertainties.

According to the GCAA, on Wednesday August 21st, at approximately 12.30 am, American Airlines Flight No. AA1512, which was on its way to Miami, was executing a left turn on the Runway 06 threshold for takeoff.

At this time, the GCAA said, the pilot of the Airbus 319 aircraft, bearing registration N9025B, taxied by backtracking the runway in order to position the aircraft for takeoff.

However, on the pilot’s attempt to make a 180-degree turn at the existing threshold of the runway, the nose gear and right undercarriage wheels came into contract with the cables and temporary threshold lights that were positioned before the transverse strip. As a result, contact with the temporary threshold lights punctured three wheels of the aircraft—the two nose wheels and the outer right side main gear wheel.

The Fort Worth, Texas-headquartered airline, in a statement issued hours after the incident, said the aircraft, an Airbus A319, had left the gate and was taxiing for takeoff when it “ran over a cable and damaged some tires.”

The AA statement said, “The cable appears to be part of a temporary runway light solution which was not visible to the crew and no previous notice was issued to pilots.”

Subsequently, a statement from the CJIA and the Ministry of Public Infrastructure (MPI) had refuted this. It said that the temporary threshold lights were put in place by the China Harbour Engineering Company to facilitate the runway extension works. “The appropriate Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) was previously issued to advise of these works and for pilots to exercise caution when in the vicinity of the threshold,” it said.

The statement from the CJIA and MPI observed that resulting from the mishap, the aircraft became disabled, and the runway was closed. At 4.40 am, the runway was reopened for flight operations following the relocation of the aircraft, the statement said.